Retirements that weren't

EPA

By Deborah Netburn, Chris Lee and Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers Alright Nine Inch Nails fans, this is it. Or is it? Reznor declared in early 2008 that Nine Inch Nails would "disappear for a while," and the band has a supposed final-run of shows in Los Angeles in early September. Yet Reznor's statement left plenty of room for interpretation, and the rock vet is wise to keep things vague. After all, people in the music biz have a peculiar habit of making grand pronouncements about how they are bowing out, then refusing to fade gracefully from the spotlight. Why just in 2007 50 Cent made a hype-generating promise to retire as a solo performer if Kanye West's album "Graduation" outsold his "Curtis." Well, the Louis Vuitton Don easily managed to upstage 50, forcing him to accept rap's version of the gold Rolex. But few celeb-watchers reasonably expected the diss-prone MC to stay retired, and one wouldn't be crazy for thinking Reznor and Nine Inch Nails will be back again someday. After all, in the music world, a retirement is often just a brief detour in one's career. Take a look at some of the more notable post-retirement resurrections:

By Deborah Netburn, Chris Lee and Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers Alright Nine Inch Nails fans, this is it. Or is it? Reznor declared in early 2008 that Nine Inch Nails would "disappear for a while," and the band has a supposed final-run of shows in Los Angeles in early September. Yet Reznor's statement left plenty of room for interpretation, and the rock vet is wise to keep things vague. After all, people in the music biz have a peculiar habit of making grand pronouncements about how they are bowing out, then refusing to fade gracefully from the spotlight. Why just in 2007 50 Cent made a hype-generating promise to retire as a solo performer if Kanye West's album "Graduation" outsold his "Curtis." Well, the Louis Vuitton Don easily managed to upstage 50, forcing him to accept rap's version of the gold Rolex. But few celeb-watchers reasonably expected the diss-prone MC to stay retired, and one wouldn't be crazy for thinking Reznor and Nine Inch Nails will be back again someday. After all, in the music world, a retirement is often just a brief detour in one's career. Take a look at some of the more notable post-retirement resurrections: (EPA)

Retirement: Soon after the 2000s began, one of the bestselling artists of all-time bowed out. Several major life events preceded the announcement of Brooks' retirement. His mother died in 1999, and the following year he and his wife of 14 years, Sandy, were divorced. The couple's daughters were 8, 6 and 4 at the time. Resurrection: Brooks announced in October 2009 that he was coming out of retirement and was heading to Las Vegas. Yet he wasn't completely absent from the pop landscape for the eight years he was in supposed hibernation. Any lingering questions about Brooks' ongoing drawing power were obliterated in 2007 when he played nine concerts in Kansas City, Mo., in conjunction with the release that fall of his compilation album, "Ultimate Hits." He initially planned one show at the 19,000-capacity Spring Center Arena as a thank-you to employees of Wal-Mart, where the album was sold exclusively, but demand quickly led to the addition of eight more shows that were opened to the general public. All nine sold out in a matter of minutes. Two months later he quickly sold out five shows at Staples Center in Los Angeles that were benefits for firefighters and victims of wildfires that had recently scorched broad swaths of Southern California.

Retirement: Soon after the 2000s began, one of the bestselling artists of all-time bowed out. Several major life events preceded the announcement of Brooks' retirement. His mother died in 1999, and the following year he and his wife of 14 years, Sandy, were divorced. The couple's daughters were 8, 6 and 4 at the time. Resurrection: Brooks announced in October 2009 that he was coming out of retirement and was heading to Las Vegas. Yet he wasn't completely absent from the pop landscape for the eight years he was in supposed hibernation. Any lingering questions about Brooks' ongoing drawing power were obliterated in 2007 when he played nine concerts in Kansas City, Mo., in conjunction with the release that fall of his compilation album, "Ultimate Hits." He initially planned one show at the 19,000-capacity Spring Center Arena as a thank-you to employees of Wal-Mart, where the album was sold exclusively, but demand quickly led to the addition of eight more shows that were opened to the general public. All nine sold out in a matter of minutes. Two months later he quickly sold out five shows at Staples Center in Los Angeles that were benefits for firefighters and victims of wildfires that had recently scorched broad swaths of Southern California. (Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times)